This invention relates to actions of muzzle loading percussion arms and particularly to the safety and versatility of such devices.
The present level of popularity of black powder firearms has revived interest in all forms of original actions including the side hammer type. The side hammer action has previously demonstrated superiority in faster ignition and greater safety to the shooter. The safety advantage comes from the location of the nipple directly opposite the breech area from the shooter's face which directs escaping gas completely away from the face. The main shortcomings of previous sidehammer actions are (1) that the hammer has no halfcock or safe position or the halfcock depends on a fragile notch in a hardened (sometimes brittle) steel part and (2) that an action designed for a right handed shooter is unsafe when used in a left handed position because of the location of the nipple and inherent gas escape toward the shooter's face and (3) that the sidehammer is awkward to quickly cock because the hammer spur is at the forward end of the striker or hammer nose.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing shortcomings of prior art side hammer actions in three ways: (1) By providing a positive push button bar safety which holds the hammer in a safe position slightly off the nipple and has the additional feature of being automatically returned only when the hammer is moved to full cock position; (2) By having a hammer that is changed from right side to left side simply by removing its pivot screw, changing position and installing the pivot screw. The nipple is moved to the opposite side at the same time and exchanged for a plug in the unused nipple mounting hole; (3) By having the hammer spur located for an easy rearward pull with the forefinger to set the hammer to full cock.